­ Before Daniel Igali famously earned Canada wrestling glory by winning its first Olympic gold in the sport, he was a young Nigerian athlete grappling for a superior position in life.

After competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C., the 20-year-old made a bold move. He skipped his team’s flight back to his politically unstable homeland and asked Canada for asylum.

Had it not been for an international sporting event, Igali might never have been handed a ticket to more prosperous soil. But once here, he gained the right to Canadian protection as a Convention Refugee.

When the world heads to Vancouver next month for the 2010 Winter Olympics, thousands of athletes, coaches, officials, sponsors, workers, journalists and their delegations will enter Canada under unique circumstances. Some might want to claim the Maple Leaf as their own.

“Athletes, team members, people involved with the Games might not have otherwise gained a visa to enter Canada but for the Games,” said Audrey Macklin, who teaches immigration and refugee law at the University of Toronto.

Under the Olympic Charter, people designated as Olympic Family Members needn’t show the usual visa to travel here. Instead, they’ll be admitted under a special application process handled by the Vancouver Olympic Committee, which will submit those names to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. There is also a special process of entry for accredited workers.

While some consider Canada’s immigration policy to be liberal, government officials routinely deny access to people from nations known for persecution in order to avoid taking them in as refugee claimants, Macklin said.

“In the case of the Olympics, of course, there is some pressure on Canada not to do that because the Olympic Games are supposed to be a symbol of international harmony and co-operation,” she said.

While defections by athletes from the Eastern Bloc were common during the Cold War, refugee claims continue to be made even now during international events hosted by Canada.

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When the 2010 Winter Olympic Games start in Vancouver on Feb. 12, they not only will draw athletes from across the globe but legions of citizens from the USA ­ all of whom will need to present newly required forms of identification to cross the border.

In anticipation of that, and in the face of criticism of the increased documentation requirements and costs for cross-border travel that went into effect last June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a $2 million marketing campaign to remind people in the Northwest about identification options for border crossings.

Last month, the department began targeting Washington, Idaho and Oregon with radio, television, print and Internet ads, said Joanne Ferreira, public affairs officer with Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection office.

The ads, featuring Olympians such as skier Bill Demong, include reminders that identity documentation will be required to return to the USA and direct people to GetYouHome.gov, a Homeland Security travel website, to find out about the various document options, several of which are less expensive than obtaining a passport.

The Olympics-centered campaign is part of an ongoing effort by Homeland Security to publicize ways of crossing the border in light of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative rules, which since June 1 have required American citizens to have a passport, passport card or enhanced driver’s license or to be enrolled in a trusted traveler program such as NEXUS and SENTRI (for frequent travelers to Canada and Mexico respectively) or FAST (for commercial drivers) in order to get back into the USA from Canada or Mexico.

The change also began requiring Canadians to have a passport, enhanced driver’s license or trusted traveler program card for getting into the USA. It did not change the similar documentation Mexican citizens already were required to show.

Some business owners who depend on customers crossing the border have been hurt by the tougher crossing rules.

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Temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Extending our online services to more temporary residents will significantly facilitate the application process by providing faster, more accessible and efficient services,” said Minister Kenney.

Forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding additional time to the process. Applications online can only be submitted if they are complete, thereby contributing to faster processing. The service is open to all temporary residents except for co-op program work permit applicants.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to make all types of applications available online in the future.

CIC first began offering online applications in June 2008, international students studying in Canada being the first to have access. Since then, international students have submitted close to 33,000 online applications. International students at over 200 participating educational institutions have been able to apply online for an off-campus work permit, confirm their eligibility online and renew their study permit while in Canada. They can also use our online services to apply for or extend the status of their dependent family members currently living in Canada.

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Many Canadian employers in the food and hospitality industry are experiencing serious problems finding and keeping good workers. The low wages, physical labour as well as the long evening and weekend hours makes many hospitality jobs unattractive to most Canadians.  Furthermore, over-time hours, training costs and efficiency resulting from high turnover rates and understaffing can significantly reduce profits for employers.

Hiring foreign can greatly reduce turnover, costs and improve productivity. Foreign workers are extremely hard working and are genuinely grateful for the opportunity to work and live in Canada. Also, turnover is extremely low for the foreign workers since they are only allowed to work for the employer identified on their work permit.

Employers who wish to hire foreign workers must usually obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada which indicates that the employer tried to recruit Canadians. The LMO also indicates that the employer will pay the “prevailing wage” to the foreign worker.

Most foreign workers require a valid work permit to work in Canada which is normally obtained at a Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Visa Post responsible for the country where the worker resides.  Foreign workers must usually undergo a medical examination with a “Designated Medical Practitioner” if the work permit is longer than six months or if the occupation is one where the “protection of health is essential.”

Many foreign workers on work permits can obtain Permanent Residence (PR) in Canada if they have a job in Canada.  There are various federal and provincial immigration programs that enable foreign workers to get PR within a year or two.  This means employers who hire workers on foreign work permits may be able to keep their workers indefinitely.

Finding and interviewing qualified foreign workers can be time-consuming.

As the demand for workers in Canada increases it will become even more important for Canadian employers to develop and implement a foreign worker program today. It is important to plan ahead and get help from professionals.

Potential Canadian employers who might want to bring in help from outside the country now have new legislation to adhere to. The legislation is a move by the government to protect temporary foreign workers, who are often reportedly taken advantage of.

Proposed by Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, the new legislation will see Canadians punished for abusing the rights of temporary foreign workers. Kenney has proposed that people who withhold wages, make people work for too many hours, or force employees to work in unsafe environments will face restrictions. In a press release issued Friday, Kenney said

“Temporary foreign workers play an important role in the Canadian economy. We have a duty to them, employers and all Canadians, to ensure that the program is fair and equitable.”

Kenney has proposed that offending employers be banned from hiring foreign temps for two years, as well as having their names published on the Citizenship and Immigration website. Kenney also proposed that temporary foreign workers face restrictions on how long they can work in Canada, allowing them to work inside Canada for four years of work, then required to stay out of Canada for six years to be eligible to work in the country again.

Canada has already come under fire this past year for requiring some travellers to have a visa. Canada has been tightening up its immigration policies over the past few years, making it tougher for people to qualify for immigration. Temporary foreign workers are used in the country to “… help address skill and labour shortages.”

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada,

“Canadian laws protect every worker in Canada. This includes temporary foreign workers like you. Your employer: must pay you for your work; must make sure that your workplace is safe and; cannot take your passport or work permit away from you.”

On Saturday a rally was held by temporary foreign workers in Edmonton Alberta to draw attention to the plight of the temps. They would like to have more rights in Canada, and also to have a chance to apply for citizenship. Alberta’s boom has meant that the number of temporary foreign workers has grown in that province, with over 37,000 foreign temp workers in 2007.

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With the prospect of a fall election fading fast, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says he now aims to unveil before Christmas a package of reforms to fix a ‘broken’ refugee system that costs Canadian taxpayers an estimated $29,000 for each claimant going through the system.

Kenney, who only last week said the reforms were on ‘indefinite hold’ because of the constant election threats, told a parliamentary committee Tuesday the reform package is on track for the fall.

Although he declined to provide specifics, Kenney said the reforms are designed to speed a refugee claims process that now can take five or more years and also crack down on phoney immigration consultants charging large amounts of money to help bogus refugees get into Canada.

The current backlog is 60,000 claims, and slightly less than half the refugee claims made in Canada are accepted.

Talk of an election has almost evaporated on Parliament Hill since the NDP said it would support the Harper government until employment insurance reforms are enacted.

This means the government has a period of relative stability to roll out some policy initiatives.

Kenney told the Commons citizenship and immigration committee the cumbersome system for handling refugee claims, which includes the right to appeal to the Federal Court of Canada at three separate stages, is ‘an advertisement for people to come and abuse the system.’

He said Canada wants to keep the door open wide for genuine refugees fleeing persecution while closing it quickly for fraudulent claimants who take advantage of the country’s generous system of multiple appeal channels to stay in Canada for years.

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Canadian immigration officials in foreign countries have often refused visitor visas to people wanting to come to Canada.
The arbitrary process has often resulted in many genuine visitors being denied entry. Cases, where relatives who intend to come to Canada for weddings, funerals or religious meetings have come to light. Often, unsuccessful applicants have been left with no recourse.
New Democratic Party (NDP) immigration critic Olivia Chow (Triinity-Spadina, Ontario) and Victoria, BC, MP Denies Savoie are demanding changes to the approval process.
“Denying entry to people who simply wish to celebrate at weddings or remember loved ones at funerals, with no reasonable explanations is cruel not only to them, but also to their friends and families,” said Chow.

Savoie recounted a recent case in which eleven Burmese participants in an annual Anglican faith exchange were refused visitors’ visas, in spite of a commitment by the Anglican Diocese of BC and a 12-year record of all participants returning home without incident. Savoie appealed directly to the Minister’s office but was refused.

“If the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is unwilling to take the word of Canadian church officials about a group of priests with unbreakable ties to their home parishes, then what hope does an ordinary citizen have in sponsoring their family member to visit Canada?” asked Savoie.

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Punjabi is set to become the fourth largest spoken language in Canada by 2011 after English, French and Chinese, according to Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

The minister made the announcement Friday night after inaugurating the seventh Spinning Wheel Film Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum here that will feature films by or about Sikhs.

More than two dozen films from around the world will be screened at the two-day festival.

Before opening the event, the minister unveiled two huge portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his son Duleep Singh. These portraits will now be permanently displayed at the museum.

Lauding the contribution made by Sikhs to the Canadian society, the minister said they have thrived after their initial struggles and made a place for themselves in Canada.

The 2006 census showed that Punjabi is the sixth largest spoken language after English, French, Chinese, Italian and German in Canada. But it is projected to surpass German and Italian by 2011.

Referring to the 1914 incident when more than 350 passengers from India – Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus – were not allowed to disembark from the Komagata Maru ship and sent back to Kolkata, the minister said Canada has recognized its racist past and apologized for it.

Toronto-based philanthropist and physician Birinder Singh Ahluwalia, the brain behind the festival, said the aim was to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Sikhs.

The Amritsar-born doctor, among most successful 25 Canadian immigrants, said the organisers received more than 120 film entries from around the world.

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Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced today that it is providing funding for the Home Instruction for Parents of Pre–School Youngsters program (HIPPY), a program that helps parents prepare their children for school and connect with services in their communities.

The program helps immigrant families become accustomed to Canadian language, life and culture from within their own homes, and helps them develop friendships and learn to access services in their new communities.

CIC, together with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, is providing HIPPY with $3.5-million to expand its family literacy program.  CIC said that this funding will allow HIPPY to create opportunities for more than 600 new immigrant families.

“With these additional investments, HIPPY will be able to expand its reach to more Canadian cities to help newcomer families improve their language and literacy skills,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

HIPPY is celebrating ten years of operation in Canada. The organization currently has eight locations across Canada, and has provided services more than 2,500 people since it was established in Canada.

Last month, the Bank of Canada declared that the recession in Canada was effectively over. This week, there have been more reports that the Canadian economy is growing.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) has reported that in August, the private sector created more than 27,000 jobs, and has said that the Canadian job market has been improving since April.

StatsCan also reported that the Gross Domestic Product in Canada grew in June, for the first time in 11 months. Canada’s major banks are reporting profits in the third quarter of 2009, another sign that the economy is recovering.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the federal housing agency, said that the housing market is expected to rebound over the last few months of 2009.

Analysts are saying that all of the above are positive signs, showing not only that Canada is recovering from the economic downturn, but that its economy is also expected to grow.

“The upturn in June GDP, the swift snapback in housing amid rebounding consumer confidence, and a stabilizing U.S. economy all suggest that Canada’s recession is indeed ending,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, a leading financial services provider.